Gamma-amino Acids and Gamma-peptide Foldamers

美国国家科学基金会化学部的有机和大分子化学项目支持威斯康星大学的Samuel Gellman教授，他将合成新的构象受限的氨基酸及其衍生物，并评估含有这些新亚基的低聚物的构象。目前的研究重点是基础合成化学和结构化学。提出的研究的具体目标是开发新的构象约束肽构建块的有效合成途径，并研究含有约束残基的低聚物的构象行为，以确定新的和稳定的折叠体二级结构。由于认识到精确折叠的低聚物，特别是蛋白质在生物系统中具有许多重要而复杂的功能，人们对合成折叠物的开发产生了兴趣。拟议的活动将通过追求一个新兴的折叠化合物家族，γ肽及其杂交体，扩大以前具有里程碑意义的研究范围。对合成折叠材料的详细了解和研究不仅有助于了解生物折叠材料的折叠方式和功能，而且有助于设计具有实用性能的新材料。拟议的文件夹研究代表了培养年轻学者独立职业生涯的绝佳途径。这一领域的进展需要将工具和概念的非传统组合应用于不对称有机合成和高阶分子结构的生物物理表征等领域。参与这项研究的学生，无论是研究生还是本科生，都将有能力在独立的职业生涯中面对挑战。此外，本研究为在课堂上向大学生传达现代化学研究的本质、吸引力和意义提供了良好的基础。具体来说，这个主题使讲师能够展示有机反应性和合成中的经典主题如何用于解决新的研究挑战。

The Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division at the National Science Foundation supports Professor Samuel Gellman at the University of Wisconsin, who will synthesize new, conformationally constrained -amino acids and derivatives, and evaluate the conformation of oligomers that contain these new subunits. The present focus of this research involves basic synthetic and structural chemistry. Specific goals of the proposed research are to develop efficient synthetic routes to new conformationally constrained peptide building blocks and to study the conformational behavior of oligomers that contain constrained residues with the aim of identifying new and stable foldamer secondary structures. Interest in the development of synthetic foldamers has been kindled by recognition of the many important and complex functions carried out by precisely folded oligomers, especially proteins, in biological systems. The proposed activities will expand the scope of previous landmark studies by pursuing an emerging family of foldamer compounds, the gamma peptides and their hybrids.Detailed understanding and research in synthetic foldamers will not only help to understand how biofoldamers fold and function but also enable the design of new materials with useful properties.The proposed foldamer research represents an excellent way to train young scholars for independent careers. Progress in this area demands applying a non-traditional combination of tools and concepts to areas as diverse as asymmetric organic synthesis and biophysical characterization of higher order molecular structure. Students who participate in this research, at the graduate or undergraduate levels, will emerge well-equipped to confront challenges in their independent careers. In addition, the proposed research offers an excellent basis for conveying to undergraduates in the classroom the essence, appeal, and significance of modern chemistry research. Specifically, this topic enables a lecturer to show how classical topics in organic reactivity and synthesis can be used to address new research challenges.